Gordon Laxton indicted on charges he went on one-man crime spree, hitting homes, vehicles in Pennsville in search of valuables

PENNSVILLE TWP.
— A township man has been indicted by a Salem County grand jury on
charges he broke into two homes as the owners slept and several vehicles
in search of valuables during a one-man crime spree.

Gordon L.
Laxton III, 40, of Pennsville, has been indicted on a total of 11 counts
of third-degree burglary and four counts of fourth-degree theft,
according to an indictment recently handed down.

At
around 2:15 a.m. that morning, a resident of Parkwood Road telephoned
Pennsville Police and said a man had been seen inside her home, and when
he saw her he fled.

About 10 minutes later police received a
second report from a resident on Clifton Place saying that a man was
seen inside her home and he had fled when she confronted him.

Police
responded to the area and conducted surveillance. According to
authorities, officers saw a man fitting the description given by the
homeowners of the intruder seen inside their homes walking along Beach
Avenue.

An officer made an attempt to approach the man, but he
fled on foot. After a chase, the officer apprehended the man who was
identified as Laxton.

In addition to burglarizing the two homes, Laxton allegedly broke into nine vehicles in the area.

Laxton
allegedly grabbed money and other miscellaneous items from the homes
and vehicles. An ATM card was also allegedly taken by Laxton who used
the card to withdraw cash at an ATM at a local convenience store during
his early-morning spree, police said at the time.

He was lodged in the Salem County Correctional Facility, Mannington Township, in lieu of $75,000 bail following his arrest.

Laxton has served time in New Jersey State Prison and has numerous prior arrests, according to court records.